A California insurance company has sued a former National Football League player, claiming that the player fabricated injuries, such as a concussion, while leading an active lifestyle.
The origins of the dispute extend back to 2010 when Brad Culpepper, who had been a defensive lineman with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Minnesota Vikings, and Chicago Bears filed a workers’ compensation claim for injuries he suffered during his career as a professional football player.
The physicians who examined him determined that he was 89 percent disabled. Culpepper allegedly said he had “quite a bit of difficulty (with) usual work activities, usual hobbies and recreational activities, driving and sleeping.” He further claimed that he could not sit for two hours at a time, according to the suit. “Everything is difficult,” he said. The insurance company, Fairmont Premier, awarded him a $175,000 settlement.
All that changed when the company learned that Culpepper was allegedly feigning injury while participating in highly publicized athletic competitions. He is “not disabled,” the company claimed in its lawsuit, which was filed in Orange County, Calif.
“Defendant Culpepper’s conduct was fraudulent, deceptive and designed to inflate the value of his claim and to take advantage of and abuse the California workers’ compensation system,” according to the complaint.
Culpepper’s attorney Scott Schutzman told the St. Petersburg Times that the insurance company’s claim is an “exaggeration.”
Culpepper retired from professional football in 2001, then went to law school, eventually becoming a personal injury lawyer. In 2012, he became the lead plaintiff in a concussion lawsuit against the NFL. But what really caught the attention of the plaintiff was when Culpepper allegedly began practicing mixed martial arts.
Had it known about Culpepper’s new interest, the insurance company claimed that it would not have issued the award.
